Make a Picada Colombiana at home: the ultimate fried food party platter with lots of different meats, crispy Patacones, and arepas!
This Colombian Picada Recipe includes 5 Colombian Sauces for the best picada ever!
What is Colombian Picada
Colombian Picada is basically a Colombian charcuterie board: lots of Colombian meats, crispy Patacones (fried green plantains), arepas and so many sauces for dipping!
Everyone makes their Picada (or Fritanga) differently, some people add potatoes or corn but this is how I make mine and the fun part is definitely the homemade sauces that are some of Colombia’s best street food sauces!
Traditionally, the food is mixed and served into a tall pile so you can do that or add it to a big serving plate like I did or even a charcuterie board 🙂
Colombian Picada Ingredients
Chicharron. The star of any Colombian Picada is definitely Chicharron, for this you need some pork belly with a good amount of fat and some meat. For extra flavor I cook it with garlic, bay leaves and allspice but some cook it as is!
Chorizos and Sausages. You can do Antioquian Chorizo (Chorizo Antioqueño), Santarrosano, Morcilla (the dark sausage you see in the picture), Butifarra, or your favorite Colombian Chorizo! I like doing at least two. Morcilla is delicious with lime juice or Colombian Aji!
Green plantains for the Patacones. These are another star of Colombian Picada so make sure you get enough plantains that look very green! If you’ve never made Patacones before, I have an in-depth guide on How To Make Patacones.
Pre-Cooked corn flour like Harina PAN or Masarepa for the Arepas. I like doing small fried Arepas for my Picada so they’re crispy on the outside and deliciously tender on the inside and you can dip them in any sauce you’d like! If you don’t feel like making Arepas, you can swap them for Fried Yuca, boiled or fried potatoes (use the small criolla ones) or corn.
Cheese, for the arepas. I like using queso fresco but you can also do feta or mozzarella cheese.
Butter or lard, for making the arepas. Lard is also delicious for frying Patacones hehe!
Oil. For frying! Sunflower, vegetable or canola all work!
For The Dipping Sauces
The bast part of any Picada are the sauces that add zest, flavor, and fun! They’re all quick and easy to make and you can pick which ones you want to make but I like doing all of them 🙂
Click on any of the sauces below to get to the in-depth recipe with all the ingredients and instructions!
Salsa Verde: This is a creamy mayo-based cilantro sauce made with fresh cilantro, onions, garlic, lime juice, and mustard. This is my favorite sauce for Picadas (it’s the green one in the pic).
Salsa de Ajo: This is a creamy garlic sauce. It features a good mayo base with lots of fresh garlic and a hint of mustard! If you love garlic, this is a must (it’s the white one in the pic).
Colombian Aji: This is a zesty, spicy salsa made with chopped green onions, white onions, hot peppers, lime juice and vinegar, it’s great with all the meats and brings freshness and spiciness, so fun!
Hogao: This is a hearthy jammy salsa made with sauteed green onions, white onions, garlic, tomato, and a hint of cumin and it’s the base of Colombian cuisine! It’s delicious on Patacones and Arepas (even more delicious when paired with the garlic sauce!).
Pineapple Sauce: This is a sweet pineapple-based sauce that’s pourable but similar to jam flavor wise, so make it if you’re into pairing pineapple with meats!
More sauces? You can do a Guacamole, my Avocado Hot Sauce, a cheese dip or any fry sauce of your choice!
How To Make Colombian Picada
STEP ONE: Make all the sauces. I recommend making your sauces 1 day ahead of time and store them covered in your refrigerator so they get more flavorful and you already have them ready for dipping. The only sauce I recommend making the day of is the garlic one because it can get a bit too garlicky overnight!
STEP TWO: Make the Chicharron. Add water to a saucepan or skillet, bring to a boil, then add salt and a pinch of baking soda for extra crispiness! Chop the pork belly and add to the water with the garlic, bay leaves and allspice.
Boil for 20 minutes then remove any extra water and keep cooking for another 20 minutes or until golden and crispy on all sides. While the Chicharron cooks, make the Arepas and Patacones.
STEP ONE: Make the Arepas. In a large bowl, add the flour, water, butter or lard, cheese, and salt. Mix until a dough forms, the texture should be similar to that of Play-Doh without being sticky.
Divide into 5 balls or 10 mini ones then shape into 1-inch thick (2.5 cm) discs and fry in a hot skillet in about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of butter until golden and crispy on both sides.
STEP TWO: Heat the oil or lard for the Patacones. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the oil or lard and heat until hot. While the oil heats, peel and cut the plantains.
STEP THREE: Fry The Plantains. Chop the two ends off each plantain, make an incision on the plantain peel from top to bottom and peel then cut the plantains into 1/2-inch (about 1.5 cm) parts.
Add the plantain cut-side down into the oil and fry until bright yellow (about 1-2 minutes) then flip and fry until bright yellow again and remove from the oil.
STEP FOUR: Make the Patacones: Using the back of a 1 cup measuring cup or the back of a plate, mash the plantain until about 1/4-inch (about 1/2 cm) thick and return to the hot oil, fry until golden (about 1-2 minutes).
Flip and fry until golden again then place onto a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any extra oil. Once you’re done frying, keep some of the oil for the chorizos.
STEP FIVE: Fry the Chorizos. Cut the chorizos and sausages in 1/2-inch thick (1 cm) rounds and fry in hot oil. You can also fry these in a skillet without any extra oil, if you’re not into deep-fried chorizos and want to keep them a bit lighter!
Serving Ideas
Serve this Picada with some cold beers, Micheladas, lemonade (try mint lemonade!), Colombiana soda (of course hehe) or some juices like Maracuya Juice or Mango Juice!
More Colombian Recipes to try:
- Colombian Empanadas
- Colombian Fruit Salad
- Colombian Hot Dogs
- … or check out all my Colombian Recipes!
Picada Colombiana (Colombian Picada Recipe)
Ingredients
For The Chicharron
- 2 lb (900 g) pork belly for Colombian chicharron (cut into 1-inch or 2.5 cm pieces)
- Salt
- 2 bay leaves (optional)
- 1-2 cloves garlic (optional)
- 3 allspice (optional)
For The Arepas
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180 g) white pre-cooked corn flour (like Harina PAN)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (375 ml) water
- 2 tbsp (30 g) butter or lard (plus more butter for frying the arepas)
- 5 oz (140 g) queso fresco
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For The Patacones
- 2 green plantains
- Oil or lard for frying (sunflower, canola, vegetable oil, peanut oil work)
For The Chorizos/Sausages
- 2 lb (900 g) chorizos of choice from these: Antioquian Chorizo, Santarrosano, Morcilla, Butifarra or any Colombian chorizo/sausage you like.
For The Sauces (Make the Ones You Like)
- 1 batch Salsa Verde (Green Sauce)
- 1 batch Salsa de Ajo (Garlic Sauce)
- 1 batch Colombian Aji
- 1 batch Hogao
- 1 batch Pineapple Sauce
Instructions
- Make the sauces. I recommend making your sauces 1 day ahead of time and store them covered in your refrigerator so they get more flavorful and you already have them ready for dipping, the only sauce I recommend making the day of is the garlic one because it can get a bit too garlicky overnight!
- Make the Chicharron. Add water to a saucepan or skillet, bring to a boil, then add salt and a pinch of baking soda for extra crispiness! Chop the pork belly and add to the water with the garlic, bay leaves and allspice. Boil for 20 minutes then remove any extra water and keep cooking for another 20 minutes or until golden and crispy on all sides. While the Chicharron cooks, make the Arepas and Patacones.
- Make the Arepas. In a large bowl, add the flour, water, butter or lard, cheese, and salt. Mix until a dough forms, the texture should be similar to that of Play-Doh without being sticky. Divide into 5 balls or 10 mini ones then shape into 1-inch thick (2.5 cm) discs and fry in a hot skillet in about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of butter until golden and crispy on both sides.
- Heat the oil or lard for the Patacones. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the oil or lard and heat until hot. While the oil heats, peel and cut the plantains.
- Fry The Plantains. Chop the two ends off each plantain, make an incision on the plantain peel from top to bottom and peel then cut the plantains into 1/2-inch (about 1.5 cm) parts. Add the plantain cut-side down into the oil and fry until bright yellow (about 1-2 minutes) then flip and fry until bright yellow again and remove from the oil.
- Make the Patacones: Using the back of a 1 cup measuring cup or the back of a plate, mash the plantain until about 1/4-inch (about 1/2 cm) thick and return to the hot oil, fry until golden (about 1-2 minutes) flip and fry until golden again then place onto a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any extra oil. Once you're done frying, keep some of the oil for the chorizos.
- Fry the Chorizos. Cut the chorizos and sausages in 1/2-inch thick (1 cm) rounds and fry in hot oil. You can also fry these in a skillet without any extra oil, if you're not into deep-fried chorizos and want to keep them a bit lighter!
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